Insomnia
by tastewithouttalent
Summary: "By the time hour thirty has come and gone, Leorio thinks Kurapika might actually be helping to soothe his nerves." Interlude set during Episode 11.


Fifty hours is a _long_ time.

Leorio hasn't ever really thought about it before. It's a couple of days, he knows, but the room is very small and there are five of them packed into it. Killua and Gon are fine, of course, amusing themselves and more entertaining than irritating, but Tonpa seems to have made it his business to make Leorio's life utterly miserable and he is doing a better job at that than he has at anything else so far in the Exam. The only saving grace is Kurapika, who curls silently around a book and proceeds to take up less space and less of Leorio's patience than anyone else for the whole first day. By the time hour thirty has come and gone, he thinks Kurapika might actually be _helping_ to soothe his nerves just by being a pool of calm between the frenzy of the younger pair and the grating presence of the older man.

Leorio can't sleep when they decide it's been long enough to be night again. He's been trying to nap all day in a desperate attempt to pass the time, and although he's sure he hasn't slept for more than a handful of hours during the day, when they turn the lights out alertness hits him as if he's watching the sun come up.

He lies still for a while in a desperate attempt to force sleep to find him. Tonpa starts snoring immediately, and after a half hour the sound fades into the heavy breathing of actual sleep. Gon and Killua are curled up on an overturned chair like a pair of kittens, apparently entirely comfortable and entirely asleep. And Kurapika…Leorio doesn't know where Kurapika is. He can't hear the blond's breathing over Tonpa's, can't see him from his angle. After a moment of listening he sits up to get a better view, and then he sees him.

Kurapika is curled in the far corner, separate from the rest of them and taking up less space asleep than he does waking. His golden hair is falling over his face and half-covering his closed eyes; Leorio can't tell if he's actually sleeping, although he's certainly still enough to be properly unconscious. Leorio gets to his feet as quietly as he can - it still sounds terribly loud to his own ears, but no one else in the room shifts - and maneuvers his way across the cluttered floor to Kurapika's corner. It feels like the sounds of the room fade as he approaches, as if the blond is generating his own bubble of peace and Leorio is slipping inside it.

He's not _trying_ to wake the smaller man. If anything Leorio is more careful as he approaches, more gentle in his movements. But as he comes closer Kurapika shifts, rolls onto his back, and reaches up to rub a hand over his face before he blinks his eyes open.

"Leorio." He doesn't sound like he's whispering, but Leorio's sure his voice is still softer than the taller man could manage if he tried. Kurapika sits up to lean on his elbows and shake his hair clear of his face. "Trouble sleeping?"

Leorio opens his mouth to speak, thinks better of it, and just nods. Kurapika slides sideways, so he's pressed up against the wall next to him, and Leorio accepts the silent invitation without waiting for a verbal suggestion. He has never felt as self-conscious of his height or his lanky limbs as he does in that moment, as he tries to fold himself into the compact space Kurapika has just created. After a moment of struggle, just as he's starting to flush in embarrassment and consider giving up, Kurapika reaches out to touch his knee and guide his leg to a different angle, and Leorio folds like he's some sort of origami puzzle. The blond's fingers brush his shoulder as the other man comes down, and then Leorio's curled into a space he would have sworn he'd never fit into and Kurapika is smiling down at him. The blond shifts and comes down himself to lie next to Leorio, and Leorio suddenly becomes very aware that he's touching Kurapika in a whole line of points. His knee is against shin, the blond's fingers are still lingering at his shoulder, and the hand he was using to brace himself has ended up pinned under Kurapika's waist in a half-formed hold.

Leorio goes red again from self-consciousness, but Kurapika seems unaware of his reaction entirely. He doesn't move his hand so Leorio doesn't shift either, although maybe there's nowhere for the blond to _go_? He is pinned between Leorio and the wall, and they're very close really, Leorio can feel his steady breathing against his skin and can see his eyelashes move when he blinks. This was a terrible idea, Leorio is realizing, and when exactly did he decide to come over here at _all_? He's not even sure what he wanted, but there's no way he's going to sleep any _better_ here, he's not even breathing regularly and his skin is prickling with flaring heat and he _must_ be making Kurapika uncomfortable even though the blond is just watching him calmly.

Leorio has just decided to move away and started trying to work out how to disentangle himself from his careful position when Kurapika moves so easily that Leorio suddenly thinks maybe he wasn't trapped at all. The fingers resting on Leorio's shoulder curl around the back of his neck and trail up into his hair, and Kurapika's face comes in so their foreheads are touching, and that is so distracting Leorio nearly doesn't notice the blond's leg shifting to hook over his hip.

He goes perfectly still for a handful of breaths that he forgets to take. But Kurapika is breathing, Leorio can feel every one against his mouth, and the taller man is frozen by indecisive adrenaline. His hand is still underneath the blond's waist; when he realizes it's there he moves it, trying to lift it or pull back, he's not sure which, and Kurapika _sighs_ and arches in against him and Leorio is kissing him before he realizes that what he's going to do.

Kurapika tips his head like he was expecting this, and their mouths fit into each other, and his lips are very soft and the fingers against Leorio's hair are pulling him in closer, and that's everything Leorio has time to notice before his perspective shatters apart into wholly disparate feelings. His hand is going numb, so he pushes and gets his elbow under Kurapika's weight instead of his wrist and pulls the blond in hard against him with his half-free arm. There are too many knees, his is digging into some part of Kurapika's leg, there is _no_ way that is comfortable, but the blond sighs into Leorio's mouth and he doesn't sound like he's upset at _all_. Leorio can't manage to shift much but he shoves his elbow into the floor and gets his shoulder up, and Kurapika's other hand joins the first, digging into short hair so Leorio can feel the blond's touch spiking sensation over his scalp. Kurapika is pressed up flat against him, which seems almost impossible given the angle of Leorio's legs at present, but he can feel the other's warmth pouring over his chest and waist and neck, and when Kurapika shifts he can feel the movement all through his body.

Leorio's just opening his mouth to lick along the curve of Kurapika's mouth when there's a sound from behind them. They go utterly still as all the adrenaline in the taller man's body turns cold with panic. Were they making any _sound_? He can't remember, can't be sure, and his mouth isn't against the blond's anymore and Kurapika's breathing sounds astonishingly loud, now, almost like he's panting. There another sound, a rustle and a whimper, and Kurapika lifts himself up to look out over Leorio's shoulder.

He comes back down almost immediately, face clearing of that moment of bright panic. "Gon rolling over," he says, conspiratorial-soft, and the half-voiced sound tingles down Leorio's spine like Kurapika's dragging a finger over his skin.

"You should go," the blond says, and Leorio wants to protest but he knows it's true, and there's no rejection in Kurapika's wide eyes, just reason. Leorio hates reason, sometimes. He tries to disentangle himself, but he's not sure where all his limbs are, and Kurapika keeps jerking at contact against his ribcage or choking on his breathing until Leorio can't focus on what he's doing for the distraction. Finally the blond touches his shoulder again, and Leorio goes still while Kurapika unwinds himself before unfolding the other man as neatly as he compressed him in the first place.

Once he's free Leorio looks back and has no idea how he ever got into the space he did; Kurapika's still up against the wall, knees tucked up against his chest but there's not enough room for two of the blond in the corner, much less both of them together. Then Leorio looks at Kurapika's face, and any spatial concerns go out of his head. The blond's eyes are drinking in the shadows until they look almost black, and they are enormous, liquid with all sorts of things he's not saying. Leorio becomes sharply aware that his lips are moist with the taste of Kurapika's mouth and blushes so hard it must be visible even in the dark, and Kurapika smiles, quick like it's being pulled out of him against his will. Leorio thinks it might be the most beautiful thing he's ever seen.

"Goodnight, Leorio," Kurapika breathes. He holds Leorio's gaze until the other man turns and goes back to the other side of the room.

Leorio lies unsleeping for the rest of the night while his skin burns with the new contact and his mind fizzes with epiphany.


End file.
